


We understand each other

by spockside



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Hostage Situation, Mild Angst, Misunderstanding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-09
Updated: 2012-06-09
Packaged: 2017-11-07 09:31:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/429486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spockside/pseuds/spockside
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some of the team don't think Tony treats Pepper very well. They don't get why Pepper puts up with him, until she's trapped in a building with some dangerous people and Tony takes action.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We understand each other

**Author's Note:**

> This started as a fill for an avengerkink prompt: 
> 
> "Pepper and Tony are strangely low-key about their relationship... The team know they're together, but really it's a non-issue in their (the team's) day to day lives. After all, they live on opposite sides of the country most of the time and Tony flirts/snarks/hits on everything that has a pulse.
> 
> "Until the day one of the bad guys kidnaps Pepper and Tony absolutely. Loses It.
> 
> "Mostly I'd like to see Tony freaking out and the team realising that Tony's not actually just a narcissistic jackass - he loves Pepper."
> 
> It kind of wandered off a bit, but I think it works.

Coulson has known Tony Stark longer than any of the Avengers, which isn't saying much. He's known Pepper Potts about as long. He's certain Ms. Potts loves Stark; he's not so sure of Stark's attachment to his former PA. With the flirting and bickering and mock whining, it's too reminiscent of the superficial persona Tony Stark presents to the world at large. Especially when the flirting is with everyone *but* Ms. Potts.

Coulson doesn't approve or disapprove; he merely observes. He isn't a psychiatrist or profiler. And thank God for that, because figuring out Tony Stark would be the work of a lifetime.

"Is he always like that?" Steve Rogers mutters as Stark walks - no, struts - out of the conference area like he owns the helicarrier and everyone on it. Coulson shrugs.

"He's mercurial," he replies. "Temperamental. But we need him, and as long as he isn't actually on SHIELD payroll, there's only so much anyone here can get him to do if he doesn't want to."

"I notice Ms. Potts can usually get him to behave," says Steve. "He doesn't seem to appreciate her, though. Why does she put up with him?"

"To tell the truth, I don't know," says Coulson. "There must be more to them than meets the eye."

"She's an adult," says Natasha, who has come into the room during the last exchange. "For better or for worse. Why are you two gossiping about her like a couple of old yentas?"

"I'm not," Steve says hastily. "I just wish Tony didn't take her so much for granted."

"You're a gentleman, Steve," says Natasha indulgently.

*

Steve doesn't feel very gentlemanly, the next time they're on Tony's private jet on the way to California. Pepper is on the video screen talking patiently with Tony, who is not cooperating.

"I'm tired of discussing it," says Tony in a petulant voice. "Why can't you just do it? They'll never know the difference."

"Because I'm not the CEO any more, I quit, remember?"

"Well, find somebody else to do it, then."

"I don't work for you any more, either, Tony. You fired me, remember?"

There's a cold, still, silent moment. Then Tony snaps, "Fine. I'll handle it myself," leans forward and cuts the connection. The screen goes blank and he sits and stares at it.

"What the hell was that about?"

Without looking around, Tony says, "Mind your own business, Mr. Spangly."

"It's a small plane, Tony. Everyone heard that conversation, probably including the pilot. And Pepper's my friend, too, that makes it my business."

Tony goes on ignoring Steve, who sits down facing him, confused and angry. He's used to an opponent who responds when challenged, who fights back, but Tony just sits. Finally his eyes flick over to glance at Steve.

"Pepper," says Tony, "has been my friend and my employee since - well, I can't even remember my life without her. She and I understand each other perfectly. So back off."

Steve decides not to continue a conversation that might end with him throwing Tony out the emergency exit without a parachute. He goes to sit as far from him as possible and resolves to talk to Pepper at the first chance he gets.

*

He doesn't get a chance as soon as he thought he would. When they land, Coulson is there, and Natasha, telling them that there's been a Situation at the SI plant and that they need Steve and Bruce, but not Tony.

Tony snarls at all of them, "It's my company, what the hell?" as they're literally running to get into the limo. Apparently Bruce and Clint are on site and in communication with Natasha, who's speaking rapidly into her cell phone as they go.

The car doors slam and Happy peels out at the fastest acceleration Tony's seen since Monaco.

"It's the division that uses super magnets for your medical applications," Coulson snaps back. "You can't go into the building; it would send your device into a feedback state."

"Don't try to talk science to me, Coulson. Just tell me what happened."

Coulson does. Tony goes paler with every sentence, ending up slumped down in his seat, looking as though someone has already shut down his RT.

"What does that mean?" asks Steve, when it's obvious that Tony's not going to argue any more.

"It means that the people who have taken over the building aren't protesters," says Coulson. "They're terrorists. They're not looking for a peaceful resolution. They're ready to die for their cause."

"Is anyone else in that building?" asks Steve.

"We have no information on that," says Natasha, but Tony is shaking his head.

"Pepper," he says. "Pepper's in there. She's probably the only one, besides the terrorists. They haven't said anything about hostages, have they?"

"Not yet," says Natasha grimly and turns back to her phone.

*

They pull up in front of the SI facility and Tony's the first one out of the car, but it's Hogan who leaps after him, grabbing his arm.

"Sir, you can't."

"The hell I can't, let me go, dammit."

"You don't know for sure that she's in there," says Coulson evenly, looking around the area, which is deserted except for a few armed guards.

"Yes," says Tony. "I do. And what's more, she knows exactly where I am."

He pulls his cell out of his pocket and thrusts it at Coulson, who examines it while Tony goes on.

"See that blip? That shows me exactly where Pepper is, right now," he says, pointing at the building across the street. "And she has the same program on her phone; it tracks the RT."

He slaps his palm against the blue glow that everyone's become so used to, shoves his phone back in his pocket. "So my question is, do they know she's in there, and if so, what are they going to do with her?"

"We haven't established contact yet, with anyone," says Natasha. "Here's Clint - maybe he saw something."

The archer appears from around a corner to join the group.

"Just had a look through one of the skylights," he reports. "Upper level is completely dark, nothing moving. I went to the adjacent building and checked every window, but no lights, no activity. Are there underground levels?"

"Yes," says Tony, thinking. "Two levels. And one - one has a tunnel into the next lab over; there's a fail-safe that triggers a gate sixty seconds after an emergency alarm sounds."

He turns to Coulson. "Let me go in through the tunnel. It isn't on any of the public schematics - only on the in-house files."

"The same objections hold," Coulson protests. "First, we don't know where Ms. Potts is, even if we assume she's in the building, and second, you're no use if your RT fails or overloads."

"I just showed you. She's in there."

"You showed us a locator," Natasha argues. "What if she left her cell phone there by accident? She could be in her office, or on her way home, for all we know."

Tony stares at her for a moment. Then a grim smile flickers across his countenance.

"You don't know - of course you don't know," he mutters. "The chip that's paired to the locator isn't in her cell phone. It's in her skin."

"You put a locator chip in her body?" says Clint. Steve can't tell whether he's impressed or appalled, but he knows his own feelings.

"Like a dog," he says bluntly. "Or a set of lost keys. Like a *thing*, Stark, so you have her at your beck and call every minute - "

He's shocked when Tony rounds on him and grabs a fistful of his shirt, shoving his face right up to Steve's.

"I'd smash your face for that, if I didn't think I'd break my hand on it," Tony snarls. "You don't know jack about me and Pepper." 

His face is white with rage and he shoves Steve away and glares at him.

"You know what? Fuck you," says Tony and walks away, toward the back of the building they're using for cover.

"They're demanding that SI make their arc reactor and repulsor tech available free of patent restrictions," Natasha is saying. She's reading a text message on Coulson's phone. "They say that if Stark or his representative comes over to sign a contract to that effect, they'll come out peacefully. If not..."

"If not, they claim they can escape to another building and blow the mag lab to kingdom come," Clint says. "And start all over, until this facility is in ruins."

"Has the place been evacuated?" Steve asks.

Tony waits only long enough to hear an affirmative answer. He checks the blip on his cell phone screen, switches it to silent mode, and returns it to his pocket. Taking off his tie and shoes, he rolls up the former and stuffs it in a pocket as well, leaving his shoes tucked away in the shadow of the building. His suit jacket he removes and puts on backward, the thicker layer covering his chest and the glow of the RT.

Then he lopes off around the building, in the opposite direction from where the terrorists might be watching. The SHIELD team don't notice he's gone for at least ten minutes, when somebody finds his shoes, tries to call his cell and gets dead air.

Half an hour later he sends Coulson a text:

_P & I safe, tunnel blocked. 5 guys w hand guns all locked in 1 rm entry code ..._

and a series of characters.

"Son of a bitch," says Clint. "He got her out. What is he, bucking for sainthood?"

"If he is, he's got a long way to go," Bruce grins.

Coulson is giving orders to a small group of guards, who collect Clint and Natasha and start making their way toward the mag lab. Then he tries something on his cell phone and grimaces, shaking his head.

"He's switched off again. Guess we'll just wait until he decides to make his entrance."

Once the five intruders are out of the lab, cuffed, and sitting on the curb awaiting transport, Clint gives the others a brief summary of the proceedings.

"They were all in one room, all right - a 'safe room' that could only be opened with that code, inside or out. We set up, opened the door and threw in a can of gas, then collected 'em when it cleared. What we don't know is why they were all in there in the first place."

"Pepper," says a voice from nearby, and Coulson realizes that Stark has reappeared and is sitting on the curb some distance away. His face is gray and he's breathing hard, but Pepper is sitting beside him holding his hands tight in her own, unharmed.

"Go on," says Natasha, arms folded, as always impatient with Tony's roundabout method of explanation.

"Save your breath," says Pepper to Tony. She looks up at the collected agents and says, "When Tony came in through the tunnel I was hiding nearby. He took my phone and told me to go out through the tunnel, that he'd be right behind me." She spares a glare at Tony, who chokes out a laugh. "Instead he deployed the gate once I was out and went back into the plant by himself. While his heart rate went haywire."

"I told you to come back and tell Coulson what was going on," Tony manages to scold. "I expected you to follow orders."

"Well, it was a dumb-ass order," she snaps, then goes on with her narrative. "So I sat there for a while and waited, and eventually he came back and raised the gate and we walked over here. He looked a lot worse than this, so I haven't heard his side of the story yet."

Everyone turns to stare expectantly at Tony, who seems to have caught his breath.

"Once I made sure Pepper was safe," he says pointedly, "I went into the plant and sent a text from her phone, pretending to be her, asking for help. The message included the location of the safe room and stated that she'd be hiding in there. Then I left the phone where they'd practically trip over it. The idiots fell for it, every last one."

"My favorite kind of adversary," said Clint. "The dumb ones."

"Not that what you did was very smart," Steve says to Tony. "Do us a favor and don't go off on your own again, Stark. You might have endangered the team."

Tony hauls himself to his feet and stands, swaying.

"Like I said, Rogers," he says. "Shut the fuck up. I don't work for you, Rogers, or for Coulson, or SHIELD. I wouldn't deliberately put any of you in danger, but for the record, if Pepper's in danger, the rest of you can just take a number."

"Tony, don't." Pepper stands and lays a hand on his arm; he ignores her and goes on.

"You don't know what you're talking about. You all think that because we bicker and snark at each other, that it means we don't care. Just because we're not all over each other in public like mating rabbits. I don't even hold her hand. You know why? She asked me not to. It's something we save for each other only - not for the paparazzi or anyone else.

"I would do anything for Pepper, anything, I'd jump out a window, give up everything I own, walk in there to be slaughtered, just to make sure she comes out safe. Pepper is my life, do you hear me? She's more than that. She's worth ten of me, or of any of you, and don't you dare for a moment to tell me you understand what that means, Rogers."

He's run out of air, so he settles for glaring around the group in general. Then Pepper speaks up.

"My chip isn't for him to keep track of my every move, just to make sure he knows where I am in an emergency. I had it put in after the Expo attack," she adds. "He made it in time to save me, but he had to guess at where I was. I don't want him to have to guess."

"This is the first time I've ever had to use it," Tony puts in.

There's a brief silence, then Coulson just nods briskly and steps away to make a phone call. Clint looks slightly ashamed. Bruce looks thoughtful, Natasha's expression is one of approval.

Steve looks outright chagrined.

"Tony," he says. "I'm sorry. A lot of people make assumptions about you, and I'm no exception. I apologize for doubting your motivations."

Tony eyes his outstretched hand dubiously for a moment. Then he shrugs, and his whole body seems to loosen up.

"My motivation and I thank you," he says and shakes Steve's hand.

Later, at the mansion where everyone is cleaning up and having dinner, Bruce comes to see Pepper, who's soaking in the hot tub.

"Just out of curiosity," Bruce says, sitting down to swing his bare feet in the water, "where is your chip located? In case I ever have to treat an injury, you know."

Pepper smiles. "Of course."

She stands up on a step and turns her back to him, hooks a thumb into the low back of her one-piece swimsuit. When she tugs it down he sees something near the base of her spine, almost as low as her buttocks, and he leans in to see better.

It's a butterfly - no, it's a heart with wings, delicate, about the size of his pinky finger. He looks up and she's looking over her shoulder at him.

"The chip is under it?" he asks and she nods. Letting her suit slip back in place, she sits next to Bruce.

"I figured it was less obvious than something that said, 'Property of Iron Man' on it."

"Brilliant," says Bruce. "You're both geniuses."

"Thanks," says Pepper, then leans closer to whisper, "Don't tell anybody, though. I'm supposed to be the mild-mannered businesswoman."

But Bruce knows better. He's sure he's not the only one.


End file.
